Doug Schuler is a leading figure in the pioneering field of community networks and other civil society innovations. His work has focused on issues of public interest computing and the social implications of technology for the past 20 years. He has served as chair of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibilty (CPSR) and is a founding member of the Seattle Community Network. As a writer he has edited several books and contributed to numerous articles, including an article in Communications of the ACMthat former Apple librarian Steve Cisler called "the definitive article on community networks". One of his recent articles, published in the January, 2001 Communications of the ACM, is entitled Computer Professionals and the Next Culture of Democracy.

Doug is a member of the faculty at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington (USA). where he teaches an interdisciplinary curriculum on civic and community networking, the new media and communications. He is currently co-teaching Community Information Systems an innovative program of study in distributed computing and software engineering which emphasizes the use of open source technologies and application development for community use and democratic purposes.

Doug has consulted with a variety of non-profit organizations and has given presentations and workshops in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. He is presently developing the Public Sphere Project for CPSR.